Five original studio albums, recorded in New York City across one week in August 1965: Boppin', Smokin', Groovin', Comin' On, Cool Burnin' are being made available on vinyl for the first time in over 50-years. Representing a critical moment in his career, Chet Baker hooked up with a superlative band for these recordings: George Coleman; Kirk Lightsey; Herman Wright and Roy Brooks play throughout on these thrilling sets, which were originally issued by Prestige Recordings. New Land has gained full access to the original analog mono tapes, and Kevin Gray has remastered and cut (AAA), giving them fresh sonic detail. At the centre of this package is a book featuring an incredibly detailed essay by GRAMMY award nominee James Gavin which intertwines the true story behind these recordings with interviews from those who were involved. Illustrated with rare photographs and ephemera, this is the deepest dive into these recordings to date. Chet Baker's 1965 Prestige recordings mark a transitional period - his return to the U.S. after time in Europe and a brush with the legal system. These sessions show him leaning into a grittier, more expressive tone, yet still laced with his signature lyrical beauty. Cut at the height of Prestige Records' hard bop renaissance, this session pairs Baker with saxophone titan George Coleman - fresh from his tour with Miles Davis. The result is a raw, swinging quintet sound that's immediate, soulful, and unvarnished. After years of drifting through Europe and seemingly unending personal turmoil, Chet returned to the U.S. and cut these sessions. Stripped of the youthful innocence that defined his early West Coast days, Baker plays with a darker, more introspective edge - his horn still sings, but now it sighs too. Joined by a tight NYC rhythm section, these recordings bridge cool jazz's elegance with the raw immediacy of East Coast hard bop. This is Baker at his most human - fragile, lyrical, unfiltered. These aren't just 'late-era' Chet recordings - they're a document of reinvention. For collectors, this fills a crucial gap between his iconic 1950s cool jazz era and his darker 1970s European sessions.
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